


Respite

by Alethia



Series: Respite [1]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Episode Related, F/M, Mirror Universe, Porn, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 17:17:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21103121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alethia/pseuds/Alethia
Summary: "Ship approaching, Captain," Detmer said, scanning her station. Michael looked back to her, catching how her expression flickered, suddenly going knowing. "It's theEnterprise." Detmer smirked at Michael like that meant something.orTerran Pike comes to visit the newly-resurrected Captain Burnham on theShenzhou.





	Respite

**Author's Note:**

> Set between 1.11 "The Wolf Inside" and 1.12 "Vaulting Ambition." Caution: Mirror universe ahead. Also posted [here](https://alethia.dreamwidth.org/1043915.html).

Michael sat rigid in the captain's chair—in _Philippa's_ chair, her mind reminded—staring at nothing, still trying to rein in her shock at the Emperor's appearance. 

Where her Philippa had been warm and kind, this one was sneering and cruel, playing some sort of power game Michael couldn't grasp. She'd told Michael to await further orders, and so she did, but she couldn't shake the sheer horror of it. She knew she'd see ghosts—she already _had_—but seeing Philippa again...

It brought it all back. Betraying Philippa. Failing to save her. She had been _so close_...

Michael shook that thought off, pushing Philippa out of her mind. In its place—

Ash. His dead eyes staring into hers as he choked the life from her. Because he wasn't Ash; he was _Voq_. Michael had been sleeping with a Klingon spy and she had _no idea_... 

Michael gripped the arms of the chair, grounding herself in the here and now. She didn't have the luxury of thinking about any of it. She needed to focus. 

"Ship approaching, Captain," Detmer said, scanning her station. Michael looked back to her, catching how her expression flickered, suddenly going knowing. "It's the _Enterprise_." Detmer smirked at Michael like that meant something. 

Michael nodded, but stayed neutral as she turned to face the screen, which now showed the ship approaching. Inside, she puzzled at it. Spock served on the _Enterprise_ of her universe, but given Sarek's reaction to her, they likely had no relationship. So what possible reason could the_ Enterprise_ have for being here? Unless this was what Philippa had her waiting for...

"Captain Pike requesting permission to beam over," the comms officer said, something pointed in his voice. Clearly the bridge crew knew something she didn't, but none of them acted like this was worrisome; on the contrary, they almost seemed...pleased.

In the short time she'd been here, the Terrans had only been pleased by death and destruction. So this boded well. 

"Granted. Have him escorted to my ready room," Michael said, standing and heading out, catching more smirks as she did. 

She didn't react, turning it over in her mind as she moved. The Captain Pike in her universe was legendary, one of the most heavily-decorated officers in Starfleet. His integrity was sacrosanct, his commitment to Starfleet and its ideals without question. She'd never met him, never even seen him, but if reports from Amanda were true, Spock held him in the highest regard. Which really told her everything she needed to know. 

But that was her universe's Pike. If the trend held, that meant that the Terran Pike would be equally renowned, but for the opposite reasons. Likely cold, cruel, and calculating. 

She wondered what he wanted. She wondered why everyone was so very amused. 

Michael took the brief private moment in her ready room to center herself and shake off the memories of Philippa, of Ash. If the best of the Terran Empire was about to walk through the door, she needed to be on her game. 

Then the door chimed and it was go time. Michael called out, "Come," as she turned from looking out the window to face her guest. The door opened—

And Michael blinked in surprise. Pike was square-jawed, blue-eyed, distinguished. _Handsome_, her mind supplied, an instinctive spark flaring within her. He wore the distinctive captain's uniform, the gold half-breastplate emphasizing the bunched muscles in his arms and chest, the adornments to his uniform broadcasting his status within the Empire.

She tried to quash her _totally inappropriate_ reaction, even as her eyes didn't seem to want to move, taking him in as he entered the ready room, his own gaze heavy on her, assessing. 

He paused just inside, the door sealing shut behind him, leaving them alone. He moved fluidly, assured, like he was used to owning any room in which he chose to stand. Michael didn't understand the heat that sent through her. She tried to control it, hoping her expression didn't betray anything.

"Captain," she said, inclining her head. 

And now it was Pike's turn to blink, something stunned in it, like he couldn't believe it. "_Captain_," he shot back, pointed, almost mocking. 

Michael stiffened. She'd offered one word to him and already messed it up. Dammit.

Pike just kept staring at her, gaze intense. "You let everyone think you were dead," he said, advancing on her like he was stalking prey. She had no idea what to call the look in his eyes.

Michael stood her ground, knowing she could show no weakness. "I needed cover to find Lorca."

But Pike just kept coming. "You let me think you were dead," he said, an accusation in that, something almost...hurt underneath the anger. "_Me_."

Michael couldn't parse it, didn't understand the deeper meaning he was implying—

And then Pike stepped close, _into_ her space. Michael tensed, but he just brought his hand up to her cheek, fingers trembling. And like that, she got it. Love. That was what his look meant. He _loved_ the Michael Burnham he knew. 

Michael reeled. She'd seen no evidence these people loved anything at all. Except maybe power. Yet here he was, _so much_ flickering through his expression at sight of the woman he thought he'd lost. 

Something about the vulnerability of it sent more heat through her, Michael responding to this man looking at her like that, like he wanted her more than the Earth and all the stars. She didn't understand; it didn't make any _sense_. She'd never had this visceral response to someone before. She didn't even know him. 

Pike touched her cheek, careful, his fingertips soft against her skin. "I mourned for you. Alone, because I couldn't let anyone else _see_." His eyes darkened. "And you were alive the whole time."

Before she could say anything, he_ crushed_ his mouth to hers, the kiss a confession and a punishment both. Michael breathed out, startled at the way his mouth lit something inside her, desire flaring hot and bright. 

Pike took that as permission, deepening the kiss, his tongue flicking into her mouth. Sudden fire zinged along the nerves there, pleasure slipping through her. She instinctively opened her mouth wider, tilting her face up to his, and he did it again, tongue dipping _in_. Michael moaned at the taste of him, something she had no words for, the rhythmic slide of his tongue sending her mind instantly to bodies moving against each other, breathless pleasure shared. 

His answering moan shook her out of it, Michael pulling back with a sharp breath in. She stared at Pike, his eyes darker now, passion making them glassy. His lips were puffy, faint hints of her lipstick smudged there. He looked debauched and deadly, the glint in his eyes making it clear there was more to come. She shivered at the thought. 

Dimly she realized...she could use this. Someone personally loyal to her, aside from the Empire. Pike was surely as revered here as in her universe. 

It was all logical and reasonable, but she couldn't help the traitorous part of her also pointing out...she didn't want to stop. She _wanted_ to sink into this feeling, as senseless as it was. She wanted something simple, something that felt good. She wanted a respite from every horrible thing that had happened and all the more to come. 

At her long pause, Pike's intent look started to turn questioning, so Michael scrambled for something to say. "I thought of you," she said, her voice low. 

_Heat_ flared in his expression, one arm wrapping around her to pull her into his body as he pressed his mouth to hers again—short, brutal kisses that stole her breath, her ability to think. All she could do was _feel_, the strength of him against her making her head go a little fuzzy. His mouth slid over hers, expert, like he knew exactly how to kiss her. Hell, given their relationship, he probably did. 

Mouth still claiming hers, Pike backed her up until the black conference table dug into her ass. Strong hands under her thighs lifted her up onto it, Pike leaning over her as he stepped between her legs. 

The sudden heat against her inner thighs cut through the fog of lust, Michael's mind racing, realizing what she was _doing_. She clung to him, mouth moving against his heatedly, lost in the haze of passion. And from the way Pike was kissing her, the way he ran his hands over her body, sparking trails of fire everywhere he pressed, he wasn't planning to stop. _This_ was why everyone was so knowing, so amused earlier. The crew had expected them to jump each other. 

And now here she was, splayed out on the table like an offering, not objecting at _all_. 

Michael automatically analyzed all the ways she could immobilize him. He was leaving himself exposed to at least three different avenues of attack. She could have him unconscious in five seconds flat. 

Instead she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer, sucking on his tongue. Her fingers dug into his arms, feeling the strength there, her mind instantly going to the feeling of those muscles flexing as he lifted and lowered her onto him, skin sick with sweat, gasping into each other's mouths. 

Pike groaned as his erection pressed against her, his body shuddering like he was just as lost as she. But then he backed off, fingers moving to the zipper on her pants, making quick work of it before sliding his hand_ in_. 

Michael cried out, his hand moving to where she was already wet, teasing clever fingers down to her entrance, where he dipped a finger in, then out again, like he was learning the feel of her. But the assurance, the expertise—he'd done this before. He knew her body. 

"Some things don't change," he murmured against her mouth, licking at her bottom lip, light. "Always so wet for me." He took her mouth again as he slid two fingers inside her, _more_ than she was expecting, Michael gasping as her body adjusted, nerves screaming pleasure down her spine. 

Pike laughed, a genuinely delighted note in it as he thrust his fingers into her rhythmically, his thumb nudging her clit. Michael threw her head back against the table, hearing the dull _thunk_ of it, but feeling nothing except the bliss his fingers stoked.

He laughed again, kissing along her jaw, sharp little nips following. "I always took pride in that, you know. That I could reduce the great Captain Burnham to wordless pleasure." He found her mouth again, kissing her thoroughly, something sharp in it now. 

Pike pulled back, all amusement gone, his fingers working her faster. "Imagine my surprise to learn you _left_, willingly, letting me think you were dead. And all to find _Lorca_." That held a hint of accusation to it. 

Michael moved against his fingers, making a soft noise, pulling his mouth to hers. 

He held himself a breath away, staring into her eyes. "Did you take him into your bed again?" he asked, a jealous glint to his eye. 

"No," she breathed. 

"Not even to punish him?" Pike pressed, twisting his fingers in a way that made her breath catch. No one had touched her like this, like he knew every inch of her body, like he knew exactly how to drive her out of her mind. 

"No," she said, helpless against the pleasure washing over her. "I wouldn't."

Pike growled and lowered his head, _taking_ her mouth, tasting like victory. He kissed her as his fingers moved faster, his thumb flicking at her clit, lighting sparks in her vision. And like that, Michael's whole _body_ tensed, everything pulling tight and hot as the orgasm swept her. She gave in to the pleasure rolling over her in a thick wave, stealing her breath, letting herself get lost in it. 

Finally, it subsided, her skin tingling, vision blurred. Michael panted into Pike's mouth, coming down, feeling the sweat soaking into her uniform. But Pike just smirked at her, moving his fingers again—

And Michael _keened_, pleasure flaring bright, sudden and shocking. She was thrown back into that heady place, like the wave was sucking her under. Ambient sound dropped out, the muscles in her thighs and core shaking uncontrollably, senses too lit up with good feeling to process it as Pike continued to work her like he held all the secrets to her body. 

Michael just dug her hands into Pike's arms and held on, riding it out, mind flailing to grasp onto anything solid. She'd _never_ had an orgasm like this, that just went on and _on_, never even knew it was possible.

All awareness fell away, Michael's heart pounding in her head, a steady _thump thump thump_ that played in time with the pleasure firing in her brain. Black spots started dancing in her vision—

And it finally subsided, Pike's fingers slowing. 

Michael gasped for air, the sound urgent and shocky even to her own ears, her body on overload. She blinked, trying to clear her vision—

To find Pike watching her, his pupils wide and dark, mouth red, taking her in like he was transfixed. The way he looked at her sent another flare of heat through her, tightening her body around his fingers—

Pike breathed out, once, before dropping his mouth to hers, licking _in_ again, kissing her like he couldn't help himself. 

Michael fell into it, moving her hand from his arm to the back of his neck, anchoring him in place, overwhelmed by the desire to stay right here, in this moment, for as long as possible. 

Pike broke their kiss to lean his forehead against hers for a beat before he moved back a little. His blue eyes were fierce as he stared down at her. "I'm going to fuck you so hard you forget Lorca's name," he said, rough and low and full of promise. 

A full-body shudder went through Michael as he bent to kiss her again—

"But I need her to remember."

Michael's gut dropped out as they both _froze_, looking over to find the ghostly holo of Philippa eyeing them with an amused air. "You two certainly don't waste time."

Pike instantly pulled his fingers out of her, straightening and swiftly dropping to one knee, head bowed. "Emperor." It was more than the usual Terran bow, some deeper meaning to it that Michael didn't understand. 

Not that she could understand much of anything, breathless and head still buzzing from one of the best orgasms _of her life_. 

Michael took a breath to recover, reeling from the emotional whiplash, too much at once. She levered herself off the table, doing up her pants slowly, holding Philippa's eye as she did. Her bow was the normal one, obligatory. 

Philippa smirked. Her eyes dropped to Pike, still kneeling. 

"Leave us. You may catch up with Burnham after I'm done with her."

"Yes, Emperor," Pike said, obedient. He swiftly stood and headed for the door, shooting Michael a brief, heated look as he did, eyes revealing all the things he wanted to do to her. 

Michael flushed. 

Then he was gone and Philippa was studying her again, knowing. "I always admired your good sense in taking up with that one. He's far more suitable than Lorca. You need someone...obedient." 

Michael didn't know what to say to that, didn't know how to feel about Philippa's interest in her counterpart's love life, so she stuck to business. "I await your orders."

"Emperor," Philippa prompted with another smile.

"I await your orders, Emperor," Michael said. Obedient. 

Philippa's smile only widened. She studied Michael for a moment, then flicked her hand dismissively. "You will deliver Lorca to me personally." Then she paused, studying her. "I look forward to seeing you in person, my dear."

And with that, Philippa disappeared. 

Relieved, Michael sagged against the table. 

The table on which Pike had _laid her out_ and fingered her until she was _past sense_. She stared at it, seeing the smudged handprints marring the glossy surface, the only evidence of what had just happened. She pictured what that must have looked like, the two of them twined together, sharing pleasure. 

Michael breathed out as her body _reacted_. She could still feel the sweat cooling on her skin, she was still _wet_, and yet she wanted Pike back here, looking at her like that. Making her feel good. 

A small part of her suspected this was some kind of stress response, a reaction to the non-stop horror of the Terran Empire. But the larger part recognized that it didn't matter. She could assess herself some other time, if she made it out alive. For now, she had her orders. 

And if some sliver of her lingered on Pike's promise...well. That was irrelevant. She'd likely never see him again. Besides, she had her own universe to get back to. Dwelling on anything in this one was...unhelpful. 

Once she got them home, everything would be fine. 

***

Fin. Feedback is adored.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Michael, everything will be absolutely _fine_.


End file.
